Fly away home
Thursday, April 30, 1998
Fly away home
Robins returns to Hawaii to play in NCAA Championship
By Grace Wen
Daily Bruin Staff
It will be a role reversal of sorts for Fred Robins and his dad - instead of the father coming to the son, the son will be going to the father.
The junior outside hitter of the UCLA men's volleyball team will be returning home to play in one of the biggest tournaments of his career.
And for once it won't be his father boarding the plane. Robins' dad has been to every match throughout the first two years of Robins' career at UCLA. Though the elder Robins has only missed three matches this year, he is still unhappy that he missed them.
Traveling back and forth may seem like a financial and physical burden, but it isn't. Robin's mother works for an airline which allows the family to fly free.
"It really doesn't affect me that much," Robins' father said. "I enjoy it because I feel like I'm on a mission to watch my son and support him."
If it wasn't for family support, the 6-foot, 6-inch outside hitter might not be the volleyball player he is today.
It was his parents' influence that started his two brothers and two sisters in the sport. The Robins' have a grass court in their backyard which is often the sight of heated competition.
As the youngest of five siblings, Robins began playing volleyball at the age of 12 with his brothers and sisters. His court time, however, was limited since he was usually the smallest of the bunch.
"(They picked on me) all the time," Robins said. "They would make me sit on the side. They'd be like 'you're too small, you can't do anything, you sit on the side.' Then I would have to watch them play. But as I slowly got bigger, older and than a little better than they would let me play, slowly. But if they were one man off, I would be sitting for sure, always."
Robins took advantage of the times that he was allowed to play to gain valuable passing and defense skills since his brothers usually did not allow him to play in the front row. His exposure to the sport at such a young age made him one of the most advanced high school players and a top recruit.
Despite the fact that his sister Mary and his brothers, Duke and Ali'i had all played for the University of Hawaii, Robins decided to come to UCLA.
"I actually wanted to get away from Hawaii for a little while," Robins said. "I know that sounds kind of dumb. I've been there all my life and I just wanted to see what the mainland was like. The UCLA program is so known for its winning. I really wanted to win a national championship so I decided to come here."
He made the right choice as UCLA defeated Hawaii in a tight five-game match for the national title during his freshman year.
Barely recovered from a sprained ankle, Robins started the championship match and hammered 11 kills, served an ace, dug six balls and had one block. He delivered consistent performances throughout his rookie season and started in 22 matches while tallying 244 kills, 148 digs and 20 aces.
After a great freshman season, Robins experienced a bit of the sophomore slump. Though he played in all 29 matches, his play did not seem to improve from the previous year.
"It seems ever since the middle of the season last year, play has just dropped off in every aspect of my game," Robins said. "And not to be an excuse, but ever since my grandmother passed away in the middle of the season, my play hasn't really picked up at all."
This year, the two-year starter has had to battle freshman Mark Williams for his spot. And Robins has won the spot late in the season. While his passing and defense have been steady, it is his improved hitting that solidified his starting role.
"Freddy has really picked up his hitting," UCLA head coach Al Scates said. "He's really been practicing hard and hitting hard in practice which is exactly what he had to do.
"His ball-handling skills are incredible. He's a starter because of his ball-handling. His good passing, his good serving, his good digging, that's why he started."
His ability to pass and play defense have allowed Scates to entrust Robins with the role of directing defense on the court. Robins realizes that it is his ball-handling skills that he developed as a young player in Hawaii that keeps him in the game. But, he hopes that he can contribute to the team in more ways than that.
"Defense is a fun part of the game," Robins said. "You get to take control of the game with your defense but I really want to try and pick up my offensive play. I want to be out there for every part of the game."JAMIE SCANLON-JACOBS/Daily Bruin
Junior outside hitter Fred Robins
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